Band ribbon feeding mechanism



KEQBEWL Dec, 2?, Wm J. K. MACOMBER BAND RIBBON FEEDING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 10, 1961 INVENTOR. JAMES KEN/1 MACH/W55? d moe L @Qi ll TTOE/VEY J. K. MACOMBER 3,293,964

BAND RIBBON FEEDING MECHANISM INVENTOR. 44 48 33 4 .M/WES mm, MACUMBER Zd wd A T TOENE Y El 2?, 166 J. K. MACOMBER 39 7 BAND RIBBON FEEDING MECHANISM Original Filed April 10, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 W W j yaw/Ma AWL United States Patent O 3,293,964 BAND RIBBGN FEEDING MECHANISM James Keith Macomher, Rockville Centre, N.Y., assignor to Consolidated Lithographing Corporation, Carle Place, Long Island, N.Y., a corporation of New York Original application Apr. 10, 1961, Ser. No. 110,289, now

Patent No. 3,174,371, dated Mar. 23, 1965. Divided and this application Dec. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 422,780

8 Claims. (CI. 83-86) This application is a divisional application of my application for Band Ribbon Feeding Mechanism, Serial No. 110,289, filed Apr. 10, 1961, now Patent No. 3,174,371.

This invention relates to hoppers or hopper means for holding or storing cut bands or labels independently or as a part of machines for wrapping cigars or the like in cellophane pack-ages with a band wrapped around the article. The main object of this invention is to provide an improved hopper or hopper means to be used in connection with band feeding and cutting means to supply cut bands from a continuous supply of ribbon of uncut bands to be delivered from a reel, or ribbon holding means. In the usual device of the prior art, banding machines are provided with a hopper into which precut bands are placed by an operator. The bands are then removed, usually from the bottom of the hopper by a sucker or other mechanism of the banding machine and are placed around the article by the machine.

There are at least three types of such banding machines, one of which comprises a circular type turret, with several positions, which rotates on a vertical axis, another which comprises a turret, with several positions, rotating on a horizontal axis, and another which operates in connection with a roller application principle. In most cases, bands are usually supplied to the machine through a hopper from which one cut band is removed at a time.

It is an object of my invention to provide a device which can either be a separate auxiliary device, or an attachment for an existing banding machine, or incorporated into a new banding machine, which will supply a cut band at the proper point of operation of the machine, without the necessity of precutting the bands, packaging the cut bands and having an operator place the cut bands within the hopper of the machine.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hopper into which cut bands may be fed by a band feeding and cutting mechanism, said hopper having means to guide and settle the bands at a desired position automatically.

It is also an object of this invention to adjust the hopper and its components for positioning the said cut bands.

I achieve the objects of my invention by providing a hopper for use with any type of band feeding and cutting mechanism adapted to move and cut a reel or ribbon of hands into cut bands. I also provide a hopper into which, if desired, an operator may place loose cut bands, not especially pre-aligned, and which will become automatically aligned.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my invention as adapted to be incorporated in a banding machine;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the Working parts of my invention in relative positions, with the portions in solid line and labeled F shown in forward position, and the portions shown in solid line and labeled R moving toward rearward position, and the portions shown in dotted lines again moving toward forward position;

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FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the carriage, the rocker arms, the fingers and the ribbon pathway of my device as seen along the lines 33 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a detail showing the cam and cam roller and associated parts for operating the cutting means of my device;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a detail of FIG. 3 showing another form of guide means for the ribbon pathway of my device;

FIG. 6 is a detail showing atop plan view of the hopper of my device;

FIG. 6a is a modification of the hopper of FIG. 6;

FIG. 6b is a further modification of the hopper of FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 is a section along the lines 7--7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a section along the lines 88 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a section along the lines 99 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic figure showing a detail of a switching arrangement associated with the hopper in an alternate form of my invention;

FIG. 11 is a front elevation of a finger of my device;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged detail as seen from lines 1212 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of a portion of band ribbon moving through my device in the direction of the arrows, being gripped by a pair of finger ends shown partially in section and partially in phantom;

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13 showing an alternate form of band ribbon;

FIG. 15 is a top plan view of a portion of another a1- ternate form of band ribbon;

FIG. 16 shows side and front elevations of an alternate form of finger for use with band ribbon shown in FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a top plan view of a portion of another alternate form of band ribbon;

FIG. 18 is an alternate form of finger for use with the band ribbon shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a cross section along the lines 19-19 in FIG. 18; and

FIG. 20 is an elevational detail, partly in section, showing how my invention can be adapted to another form of machine for wrapping and banding.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

It is to be understood that the hopper of the invention can be used with any type of band feeding and cutting mechanism, or in some instances, could be filled with loose cut bands or labels by hand. In the following specification, one type of feeding and cutting mechanism, as set forth in my said co-pending application, Ser. No. 110,289, is described for the purpose of illustrating a feeding and cutting mechanism to be used in conjunction with the invention, it being understood that any type of feeding and cutting mechanism may be utilized.

The band feed illustrated has guide means including a top shaft 10 and a bottom shaft 11 for a carriage 12. The shafts 10 and 11 may be mounted on the main frame of a banding or packaging machine or on the frame of an auxiliary unit, in any suitable manner. I provide a reciprocating carriage 12 with bearings 13 and 14 adapted to slide fit around the shafts 10 and 11 respectively. The carriage 12 has a bearing or shaft hanger 15 within which I place a shaft 16 which has a rocker arm 17 at one end and a rocker arm 18 at the other end. Rocker arm 18 has fingers 19 mounted by means of screws 20. Rocker arm 17 is connected by means of a link 21 to a feed drive crank 22. Link 21 has ball joint suspension bearings 23 and 24 respectively which connect to the rocker arm 17 and the feed drive crank 22.

Feed drive crank 22 is in turn connected with a band feed drive shaft 25 which comprises universal joints 26 and shaft ends 27 and 28. Shaft end 28 is connected to the familiar main drive (not shown) of the packaging machine by means of a Gilmer, or other, drive not shown completely as it is old and familiar in the art. The drive connection is made by means of a 1 to 1 ratio so that every time the main drive of the machine makes one revolution, the band feed drive shaft 25 will make one revolution. This ratio should deliver one cut cigar band 31 for each revolution of the main drive which will correspond to the presentation of one cigar, or other article, for banding.

The cigar bands 31 are cut from a band ribbon 33 drawn from a reel 34 suspended on the main frame of the machine and over a plate 29 supported by spring wires 30 mounted on the main frame.

I provide a ribbon pathway 35 which is defined by guide means for guiding the ribbon 33, such as the opposed portions 35a and 35b of the ribbon guide means. Portion 35a is placed on the main frame of the device in faced relationship to portion 35b, and is spaced sufiiciently distant, so that the band ribbon 33 may slide or be pushed within pathway 35 between 35a and 35b without undue drag or friction. The ribbon pathway guide means also comprise portions 35c and 35d which should be spaced somewhat wider than the ribbon 33 to define the width of the ribbon path, or pathway, plane 35.

The band ribbon 33 comprises a series of bands 31 which are as yet uncut. Each band comprises end portions 42 and a central or medallion portion 43. Thus, the uncut .band ribbon 33 increases and diminishes in width in a regular fashion from a narrower portion at the ends 42 to a wider portion at the center or medallion 43. I shall designate the measurement of the narrower portion as N and of the wider portion as W. The width of the ribbon guide means 35a and 35b should be approximately the same width as the narrow of N measurement across the band 31. Thus, the edges of the center or medallion 43 of the wider portion of the band 31 will extend on either side of the portions 35a and 35b so that the ribbon path, or pathway '35 will also extend beyond 35a and 35b but within 35c and 35d. It is understood that 35a, 35b, 35c and 35d are suspended from the main frame by means of brackets or any other suspension means known to the "art. In an alternate form such as ribbon guide means 44, portions 35b, 35c and 35d are made in combination, and may be mounted on the main frame in such fashion. In alternate form 44, longitudinal slots 44a are provided to receive the fingers 19. Thus the ends 47 of the fingers 19 may move within the plane 35 of the ribbon pathway in either form of the guide means shown. In the form comprising portions 35a, 35b, 35c and 35d, the fingers 19 may move alongside portions 35a and 35b and within portions 35c and 35d, and in the form comprising portion 44, the longitudinal slots 44a permit movement of the fingers 49 alongside ribbon path 35.

These fingers 19 comprise a body portion 45 having an opening 46 through which a screw 20 is placed to attach the finger 19 to the rocker arm 18. Finger ends 47 depend from each finger body portion 45. The width of the finger ends 47 must be less than the distance between element 35c and elements 35a and 35b, or element 35d and elements 35a and 3511, or the inside width of slots 44a, so that finger ends 47 may move freely without touching the mentioned elements. The finger ends 47, in the preferred form of the invention, are arranged as a set of two, or a pair of finger ends 47, on the rocker arm 18 in such a manner that the distance between facing sides 47a of the finger ends 47 is smaller than the measurement W across the band 31 or band ribbon 33.

Near the bottom of each finger end 47, I have provided an obliquely shaped cut 48. The width of the cut 48 should be slightly greater than the thickness of the band ribbon 33, including any necessary splice of the ribbon, since the band ribbon 33 must fit within the dimensions of the cut 48 of the finger ends 47. The finger ends 47 are designed to engage the band ribbon 33 Within the cuts 48, and by so doing: to pull the band ribbon '33 from the ribbon supply means or reel 34 past the spring mounted ribbon guide means or plate 29 through the ribbon band path 35 and: to push the band ribbon 33 past the position of the fingers 19 and beyond the band pathway 35 to the cutting means.

The inner ends or walls 60 of the cuts 48 are substantially oblique, and may be straight 60 or curved 60a to fit the particular contour of the band ribbon 33 or 33a as the case may be, respectively. The inner wall 60 will be in substantial registration with a portion of the edges 61 of the band ribbon 33. The edges 61 are those portions of the edges of the band ribbon 33 between the widest portion W and the narrowest portion N. Thus, if a band ribbon 33 is shaped from wide to narrow in straight line relationship, then the inner wall 60 of the cut 48 will be a straight line. If, on the other hand, the shape of the band ribbon 33a from wide to narrow is in a curved relationship, then the inner wall 60a will have a corresponding curve, to fit the curve of the band ribbon 33a.

It will now be appreciated that the band ribbon 33 is pushed or pulled forward by the finger ends 47 which are adapted to reciprocate, since mounted on the reciprocating carriage 12, in the direction of the movement of the band ribbon 33. When the finger ends 47 move forward, the cuts 48 are in the same plane 35 as the band ribbon 33 and engage its edges 61. When the finger ends 47 move backward, they are raised above the plane 35 of the band ribbon 33, by rocker arm 18, as I will explain more fully hereinbelow, so as not to engage and foul the band ribbon 33 on the reverse movement.

I provide rounded leading edges 62 for the cuts 48 so that the finger ends 47 will engage edges 61 of the band ribbon 33 as the fingers 19 move forward. The rounded leading edges 62 will engage the edges 61 of the ribbon 33 even though such edges 61 may have been bent or creased. The radius of the rounded leading edges 62 will serve to widen the cut 48 and the leading edge to insure that edges 61 will be guided into cuts 48. Thus, the leading edges 62 of the cuts 48 are rounded to provide a wide leading edge to place the bands within the cuts 48 and yet the cuts 48 are narrow enough so that the inner walls 60 can make good engagement with the edges 61 of the band 33 without buckling the band 33.

OPERATION In order for the device to operate properly, finger shifting means are provided so that finger ends 47 may shift to different positions with relation to the ribbon pathway 35. The finger shifting means comprise the link 21 and the rocker arms 17 and 18 as well as other elements including stop means.

The carriage 12 is provided with stop means, a first stop means or forward stop pin 65 and a second stop means or rear stop pin 66. An upper limit stop guide, or shift means restrainer 67, is mounted on any convenient place on the main frame of the machine at or near the most forward position which the reciprocating fingers 19 may take in the operation of the machine. The function of these various stop means 65, 66 and 67 are as follows: The forward stop pin 65 and the rear stop pin 66 limit the rocking movement of rocker arm 17 When link 21 moves in a forward direction as shown in the arrow F in FIG. 1, it pushes rocker arm 17 forward. This causes finger ends 47 to move downward until cuts 48 will be in the same plane as edges 61 of the band ribbon 33. This should occur when arm 17 hits forward stop pin 65. The forward rocking action will then cease, finger ends 47 will stop moving downward, and the entire carriage 12 and its components will then move forward. The cuts 48 of the finger ends 47' will engage edges 61 of the band ribbon 33 thereby pulling and pushing the band ribbon 33 along.

Shortly, link 21 will stop and reverse because of the action of feed drive crank 22. At this point, the upper surfaces 68 of at least one of the finger bodies 45 will be underneath shift restrainer 67. Thus, as the link 21 draws back, the motion of the carriage 12 and the fingers 19 will reverse, but the finger end cuts 48 will not shift upward, continuing to move in reverse in the same plane as band ribbon 33, until the upper surface 68 clears the shift restrainer 67.

When the link 21 stops and reverses, as aforesaid, the ribbon 33 stops and is held motionless by friction braking means 150 comprising a felt pad 151 adapted to hold the ribbon 33 against guide portion 35b. Felt pad 151 is mounted at one end of a brake arm 152 which is held in place by means of a bearing on the U shaped bracket 153, which is soldered or welded on the frame of the device, and an expansion spring 154, seated against the spring arm 152 and a portion of the frame of the device. The other end 155 of the spring arm 152 may serve as a thumb release. By pressing end 155 down with the finger or thumb will release the felt brake pad 151 when it is necessary to thread in a new band ribbon 33. The tension of the friction brake 150 is such that when there is no pulling action on the band ribbon 33, the band ribbon will be held motionless against backward pull exerted by tension in spring 30, but when there is pulling action by means of the fingers, the brake 150 will permit the band ribbon to move forward.

After the ribbon 33 is stopped by action of brake 15f finger ends 47 will be drawn back toward the narrower dimension N of the band, and cuts 45 will ride back clear of the wider dimension W and the edges 61. At this position, upper portion 68 of finger bodies 45 should clear restrainer 67, permitting the fingers 19 to shift in an upward direction and permitting rocker arm 17 to rock in a reverse or backward rocking motion until it hits stop pin 65.

The fingers 19 will be raised when the finger shifting means (elements 16, 17, 18 and 21) reverse, and reverse direction of the reciprocating carriage 12 is prevented until the backward rocking motion of rocker arm 17 stops against stop pin 65. Motion of the carriage 12 may be prevented by the normal friction in the bearings 13 and 14 or by providing a nylon friction brake 160 which fits in an aperture 161 in the carriage and is tensioned by means of a flat spring 162 which is fastened to the carriage 12. The action of the flat spring 162 holds the nylon friction brake against shaft 10. This friction brake means 160 will limit the movement of the carriage 12 when the power transmission means, such as the link 21, is not acting directly on the carriage 12. When the transmission means applies power to the carriage 12 by means of one of the stops (65 or 66), the carriage will move; otherwise, it will be held in place by the braking means 160.

Thus, after the fingers 19 are raised and the action of the link 21 continues in reverse direction, it will pull rocker arm 17 against stop pin 66 to draw carriage 12 back to its original or starting position. Therefore, one revolution of band feed drive shaft 25 will move the carriage 12 forward and back again in a reciprocating motion by means of the transmission or drive linkage means which includes the link 21. As the carriage 12 moves forward and back, the finger end cuts 48 Will dip into a first position in the plane of the band ribbon 33, push the band ribbon 33 forward, draw back and then raise to a second position, outside of or away from plane 35, and then move back again to starting position. At the next cycle the finger end cuts 48 will dip again and engage the next medallion, or wide portion W of band ribbon 33 to move it forward for a distance of one individual band 31 of the band ribbon 33. The described motion permits the cuts 48 to disengage from hand edges 61 during a backward motion and prevents tearing of the band edges.

At the end of each cycle of feeding a length of the band ribbon 33, cutting or knife means 70 are caused to operate to cut a band 31 from the end of the ribbon 33. The cut band 31 drops into a hopper 71 where it is available to be transported into the wrapping machinery.

In the form of invention shown, the cutting means 70 has a bottom knife 72 and a top knife 73. The bottom knife 72 is stationary and is fixed to a convenient portion of the frame of the device. The top knife 73 is attached to bottom shaft 11 in such a manner that when bottom shaft 11 is turned on its axis, top knife 73 will operate against stationary bottom knife 72 to make a band out. The shaft 11 is spring biased by means of tension springs 76 pulling a lever assembly 74 and attached to any convenient portion of the frame. The spring means 76 pull the upper knife 73 to a cutting position. This is a safety feature. Springs 76 pull the lever assembly 74 and cause bottom shaft 11 to turn on its axis. Bottom shaft 11 is rotatably mounted on suitable bearings so that it may turn on its axis when lever assembly 74 is moved in one direction or the other. Thus, since the action of the springs 76 pulls the top knife 73 to cutting position, a counter force must be provided to keep the top knife 73 in open position during the movement of the band ribbon 33. For this purpose, I have provided a cam 77 which is mounted on, and revolves with, the band feed drive shaft 25. The cam 77 has a circumference with a low section 78 and a high section 80.

The lever assembly 74 is provided with a cam roller 79, and action of springs 76 forces cam roller 79 to bear against the circumference of cam 77. Thus, as cam 77 revolves, during each revolution cam roller 79 will move against the high section 80 and the low section 78, alternately. This in turn forces top knife 73 to open and then permits it to be pulled to closed position, alternately, so that a band 31 can becut from the ribbon 33 for each revolution of the band feed drive shaft 25 so as the shaft 25 continues to revolve, the upper knife 73 will continue to open and close. When the upper knife is in open position, it permits the band ribbon 33 to pass through without being cut. The low section 78 of cam 77 is placed in such relation to shaft 25 that it will permit the springs 76 to make the knife cut at that portion of the revolution of the shaft 25 when link 21 is pulling back in reverse direction. Thus, the cut will be made between forward pushes when the band ribbon 33 is at rest and its end portion 31 is in the hopper.

In an alternate form of my invention, I can provide my band cutting and hopper loading means with an independent motor, as a self-contained independent unit. Such an independent unit can be installed on a wrapping machine with a horizontal turret, placing the hopper 71 as the proper position with relation to the turret positions of the machine. In this alternate form of my invention, I would provide the hopper 71 with a limit microswitching system so that after a small supply of bands are cut, the motor will stop. When these out bands 31 are depleted until there are perhaps four or five left in the hopper 71, a microswitch 171, or other switching means through a relay 172, would then start the motor 170 to build up a supply of bands 31 in the hopper 71. When the level of the bands 31 is high enough, the microswitch 171 will be actuated by switch throwing means, or switch arm 173, to stop the motor 170 once again. Thus a supply of bands 31 is maintained in the hopper 71 independent of the main drive of the wrapping machine.

In another form of my invention (see FIG. 20), I would provide a means for feeding cut bands 31 mechanically into a machine such as the one disclosed in my copending application for Wrapping and Tear Banding Machine, Ser. No. 853,613, filed Nov. 17, 1959, which resulted in the issuance of United States Letters Patent No. 3,013,368 dated Dec. 19, 1961. In this alternate form, the carriage assembly 12 would reciprocate vertically instead of horizontally, and the band feed pathway 35 would be vertical instead of horizontal. Instead of having a hopper 71 at the end of the band feed pathway 35, the band ribbon 33 would feed directly into a band holding means 180. After the band 31 is cut in the usual manner by knife 181, it will be held in position by the band holding means 180 until it is Wrapped around a cigar 182 by the main banding machinery.

I have also made other types of fingers adapted to move other types of band ribbon. In FIG. 15 I show a band ribbon 190 which has straight edges 191 and circular holes 192. In order to move this type of band ribbon 190, I provide a single finger 195.

In FIG. 17 I show a band ribbon 200 with straight edges 201 and central flaps, or cuts 202. This type of ribbon 200 can be pushed by a single finger 205 with a cut 296. Ribbon 200 has a particular advantage over ribbon 190. The central flaps, or opening 202 are automatically fitted back in place as a part of the band when the cut band is held in place between the cigar and the wrapper. Thus, the appearance of the band is not marred by a visible hole.

I may also provide the hopper 71 with band alignment means. This is done by providing for a hopper 71 having ends 220 and 221 which are movable with respect to each other. End 220 has a ledge means 222 and end 221 has a ledge means 223. The ledge means may be in the form of a solid ledge as shown or one, or more, tines, teeth or prongs, or any other equivalent arrangement such as one or more projections, capable of holding the bands. The cut band 31 rests with its ends on the side ledge means 222 and 223. If end 220 is held stationary, and end 221 is shifted laterally with respect thereto, the alignment of the cut band 31 can be changed prior to its being placed on a cigar. This type of adjustment is important since it will eliminate inaccuracies in banding resulting in a helix. By making this lateral adjustment, the helix can be eliminated as desired. End 221 of the hopper 71 is a part of element 224 which has a slot 225 and a tongue 226 which fits into groove 227 of element 228 of which end 220 is a part. A machine screw 230 holds element 224 in place. By loosening the machine screw 230, element 224 may be shifted transversely and held in such shifted position by again tightening screw 230. By this means, the two end parts of the hopper 71 are moved with relation to each other to provide for band adjustment. I also provide a stop 231 to prevent the cut bands 31 from overruning the hopper 71 during the ope-ration of the device.

In order to hold the cut band 31 in the proper adjusted position, I provide the hopper 71 with tapered sides 235, 236, 237 and 238. This is a taper perpendicular to the surface of the face of the cut band 31 in the hopper 71 (I shall call this a settling taper), to distinguish it from a taper in a longitudinal direction (which may be used to facilitate the entrance of the band into the hopper 71 as it is fed). The purpose of the sides with settling tapers is to provide guides for the band to settle to the bottom of the hopper 71 in the correct position. For purposes of clarity, I will call the sides with settling tapers band settling guide means.

Ordinarily, lateral adjustment of the hopper 71 as described hereinabove would probably cause a cut band 31 to buckle and defeat the purpose of the adjustment. This buckling would be caused by a band 31 held snugly at the bottom of the hopper 71 if it had tapered sides formed to correspond exactly to the contour of the cut band 31. I, therefore, provide four bearing means a, b, c and d on the band settling guide means as shown on FIGS. 1 and 6 of the drawings. These means extend inwardly from the sides 235-238 to the edges of the bottom cut band 31, keeping the rest of the edges of the bands 31 away from the sides 235-238. The four bearing means a, b, c and d are located inwardly from the ends 'of the bands 31 and will permit the hopper 71 to be laterally adjusted with bands loaded in it without buckling the bands. These bearing means may be in the form of contact surfaces, edges, points or lines. In addition to the four lateral bearing means, the bands are also held in place longitudinally between the stationary bottom knife 72 and the stop 231.

In another form of hopper 71a, I provide ledge means 222a and 223a for a band to rest upon. Instead of having sides, the hopper 71a merely has four bearing edges or lines e, f, g and h.

In FIG. 612 I show this alternate form of invention 71a with four settling tapers 235e, 236 f, 237]: and 238g, and in FIG. 6b, I show a form of the invention 71b with only two settling tapers 236 and 238g; with bearing edges e and h being substantially perpendicular to the surface of the face of band 31d. It is sometimes preferable to have four settling tapers, or only two settling tapers as shown, depending upon the type of band used in the device. In the form of invention shown in FIG. 6a, band 310 has straight edges, and in the form of invention shown in FIG. 6b, band 31d has contoured edges. Thus, the hopper can be made to accommodate many types of bands.

While I have described my invention in its preferred forms, there are other forms which it may take without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, in order to adjust the position of the cut bands 31 by shifting the hopper, I may provide a hopper which swivels on a perpendicular axis, as an equivalent construction to the hopper described above which is separable and may be adjusted laterally. There may be many other examples. I, therefore, desire to be protected for all forms coming within the scope of the claims hereinbelow.

Wherefore, I claim:

1. In a band feeding device, a hopper for receiving cut bands one at a time and for holding a quantity of such cut bands comprising: a first end and a second end, said ends forming an open bottom with ledge means adapted to releasably hold at least one band at the bottom level, said band being substantially flat when in such bottom position; each of said ends comprising side means with band settling guide means, each of said band settling guide means including a side wall structure comprising a relatively narrow substantially vertical bearing edge disposed internally with relation to the rest of said side wall structure with the lowermost portion of said bearing means of each of said side wall structures being positioned at and adapted to touch a portion of the edge of the bottom label in substantially point contacting relationship when said label is positioned at the bottom level of the hopper.

2. The hopper as defined in claim 1 in which the said first end and second end are transversely adjustable relative to each other and are held together by releasable means.

3. A hopper as defined in claim 1 in which the walls and substantially vertical bearing edges in at least one of said ends are slanted so that the space on said end between said bearing edges gradually diminishes from top to bottom.

4. A hopper as defined in claim 1 in which the walls and substantially vertical bearing edges of one of said ends are perpendicular, and the walls and substantially vertical bearing edges of the other of said ends are slanted so that the space on said end between said bearing edges gradually diminishes from top to bottom.

5. A hopper as defined in claim 1 in which at least one bearing edge consists of a substantially vertical edge coming to a corner.

6. The band feeding device as defined in claim 1 comprising in addition to the hopper: a main frame with a ribbon pathway, feeding means for feeding a web of uncut bands along the ribbon pathway, cutting means for cutting said web of uncut bands int-o cut bands, and driving means for the said feeding means and the said cutting means in which said cutting means are placed near the end of the ribbon pathway and at an end of the said hopper so that as each band is cut, it will fall into the hopper.

7. The band feeding device as defined in claim 6 comprising in addition: means to remove said band at the bottom level of said hopepr in which said first end and said second end of said hopper are transversely adjustable relative to each other and are held together by releasable means so that said band at the bottom level can be adjustably positioned with relation to said means for removing said band.

8. In combination with a banding device comprising a banding station and means to remove a cut band positioned at the bottom level of a hopper, and further means to move said out band to said banding station, a hopper for holding a quantity of cut bands comprising: a first end and a second end, said ends forming an open bottom with ledge means adapted to releasably hold at least one band at the bottom level, each of said ends comprising side means including a side wall structure comprising a relatively narrow substantially vertical bearing edge disposed internally with relation to the rest of said side wall structure with the lowermost portion of said bearing edge of each of said side wall sructures being positioned at and adapted to touch a portion of the edge of the bottom band in substantially point contacting relationship; in which said first end and said second end of said hopper comprise adjustment means for transverse adjustment relative to each other, whereby when said first and second ends are moved relative to each other by said adjustment means, the position of said bottom band in said hopper will be changed angularly with relation to said means for removing said band so that said band will be presented at said banding station in an angular position relative to an article to be banded so as to be wrapped around said article with the ends of said band overlapping in register.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,147,308 7/1915 Caylor et al 271-32 1,261,831 4/1918 Malocsay 131106 1,278,438 9/1918 Conradi 271-32 1,653,645 12/1927 Malocsay 271--32 1,787,077 12/1930 Kruse 27132 2,182,871 12/1939 Jones et al. 83-61 2,335,064 11/1943 Kabel 271-32 2,640,605 6/ 1953 Chatterton 271-86 2,775,301 12/1956 Gangloif 83-86 2,973,201 2/1961 Gentry 271-32 WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

L. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A BAND FEEDING DEVICE, A HOPPER FOR RECEIVING CUT BANDS ONE AT A TIME AND FOR HOLDING A QUANTITY OF SUCH CUTS BANDS COMPRISING: A FIRST END AND A SECOND END, SAID ENDS FROMING AN OPEN BOTOM WITH LEDGE MEANS ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY HOLD AT LEAST ONE BAND AT THE BOTTOM LEVEL, SAID BAND BEING SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT WHEN IN SUCH BOTTOM POSITION; EACH OF SAID ENDS COMPRISINGS SIDE MEANS WITH BAND SETTLING GUIDE MEANS, EACH OF SAID BAND SETTLING GUIDE MEANS INCLUDING A SIDE WALL STRUCTURE COMPRISING A RELATIVELY NARROW SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL BEARING EDGE DISPOSED INTERNALLY WITH RELATION TO THE REST OF SAID SIDE WALL STRUCTURE WITH THE LOWERMOST PORTION OF SAID BEARING MEANS OF EACH OF SAID SIDE WALL STRUCTURES BEING POSITIONED AT AND 